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LIVE EUROPEAN TOPICS
The Stone Kidnapping and the Ma
cedonian Committee-
Position of the Hiilrynrlnn Riivprn
men HiismIiik llrended Secret So
elcty lie Illnck llnnd Protcct
inar llie IIves of EnKlnmlH lloyulty
Tim kidnapping In Macedonia of an un
fortunate missionary Miss Sone has di
rected the attention to the existing aggra
vation of the chronic disorder that rtigns
n the Balkan Peninsula Nothing lias
lwen heard for some time of the lady
who Is of Amerleannationallty nor ap
parently can any trace be found of her
captors Our Constantinople correspon
dent telegraphed a fortnight ago that vhe
American Legation was convinced that
the affair was not one of ordinary brlg
andage but a scheme hatched by the
Macedonian Committee in Bulgaria with
the object of obtaining funds for revolu
tionary agitation
No less a sum than 23000 is asked for
Miss Stones ransom and Unit Is a sum
which may well make the mouths of Bul
garian patriots water But the view
entertained by the American Legation did
not prevail for we find that the troops
which were supposed to have surrounded
the retreat of the brigands were hastily
called back at the last moment upon the
theory that their advance would be the
signal foe Miss Stones murder So fur
ns can Ee seen the troops might have
carried out their intended movement
without any danger cither to Miss Slum
or themselves for the simple reason that
the brigands were not there After plac
ing her In safe custody In some seques
tered spot the band appears to have
promptly dissolved
The American Consul General has now
changed his tactics He has announced
that no ransom will be paid to any one
and has energetically demanded from the
Bulgarian Government the arrest of the
chief Instigators of the plot It Is exceed
ingly doubtful whether the Bulgarian
Government will exert Itself to Inillct In
convenience iqion a committee from whicli
zrjHtt
classes among whom Liberal political
views are known or suspected to be held
No doubt we shall soon hear of another
grent police raid in St Petersburg when
a number of members of so called
societies will suddenly disappear
In ordir to understand why it isthat
Russian people appear to form mi many
secret societies it Is necessary to glance
at the general social of the- dif
ferent classes of the Czars subjects
A German author some ten years ago
speaking of Russia said that the mass of
the discontented who expect salvation
from disastrous events is constantly in
creasing Not to spenl of the distrust
with which Russian Nationalists meet
every stranger the spread and ramlllca
tions of secret political agents and Inform
ers Inside as well as outside SL Peters
burg has increased so enormously that
political discussions are avoided with ar
anxiety which is foreign to the habits of
Russian life and character People are
mote cautious than they were In the days
of Alexander II The educated classes
who take a serious interest in politics
confine their exchange of views to inti
mate circles Freedom of discussion is to
be observed only where it is a question
of abusing foreign countries and the press
can display courage only when criticising
the English Cabinet on the conduct of
South African affairs Where misunder
standing and distrust are spread over a
country where everj thing is out of Joint
and discontent Is universal whxt more
natural than that a few friends of similar
tastes should agree to meet at each
others houFe where conversation on any
subject can be unfettered I have spent
many an enjoyable evening among charm
ing people of good education Tvhere at
intervals the best music was interpreted
on the piano violin and other instru
ments while singing and occaslomllv a
darce would be matted The elder ladies
and grntltrrcn would discuss polities ovtv
cigarettes and a game of cards The
piano the cards and the dancing are al
ways necessary for the average policeman
In Russia would not understand the mean
ing of a meeting of a dozen or twenty
people if it were not for music or gam
bling and no house Is safe from a domi
ciliary visit at any time
From among the various circles just In
dicated the more ardent and serious men
ine worKera wno wisli to nroenre free
dom and Justice for their fellow men
these meet similar spirits and form in
ner circles where arrangements are made
t 1111 miVilrt nntnl 1 il
it is accustomed to expect political er j trlnes of socialism over the countrvNee
vices A telegram irom bona ot tne lutn
Informed us that the police have been
looking for the notorious M Sarafof the
former president of the Macedonian com
mittee who is suspected of having organ
ized the capture of Miss Stone His ar
rest however has not been effected as
many of the police and other authorities
rympathize with M Sarafof
That his aims are political is shown as
suming the suspicion Just mentioned to
he well founded by the gentlemanly man
ner in which his agents abstained from
appropriating Miss Stones baggage A
common brigand would of course have
plundered her but politicians content
themselves with obtaining control of her
person In order to put pressure upon the
American Government for the benefit of
their beloved country To those who pe
dantically apply narrow ethical rules to
political conduct Uiere may seem to be
a tinge of immorality In the proceedings
of these patriots notwithstanding thIr
superiority to the temptation offered by
Miss Stones baggage
Yet in this country which in spite of
Lord Roscbcrys hypercriticlsm knows
itself to lead the van of civilization to
profess political aims is a sure way to
secure sympathy among police and other
authorities for proceedings which private
alms would -not be held to Justify We be
lieve that a corresponding breadth of
view Is far from uncommon in the United
- States M Sarafof and his friends In the
Bulgarian administration must therefore
be regarded with the respect due to lofty
motives We expect from them nothing
less than the most courteous and consid
erate treatment of the lady whom rea
sons or state compel them to withdraw
for a time from her missionary work
Trince Ferdinand and the Bulgarian
Government are Impressed with the be
lief that there are no men more nt than
themselves to govern Macedonia which
at present is a province of the Turkish
Empire They are therefore very un-
essarlly these reformers must meet in se
cret hence they are members of secrt
j societies
I In England our reformcis have the press
I and the public platform and those who
wish can make public their particular
views without being dragged off to
on as political convicts In Russia a man
i tlare not speak a word in favor of it form
of government different from the present
j autocracy The result is that he is
ed to take refuse In secrecy and secret
j methods
j 1 know of a rich landowner who has
traveled all over Europe He was Im
pressed with what he saw especially in
England and on settling down in Russia
he tried to Introduce reforms He was
thwarted by the authorities In every way
and at length he was driven to Join a
secret society He was de puted to travel
tile country- Disguised as a peasant he
went about distributing so called revolu
tionary literature He was caught and
thrown Into prison This was over ten
years ago Nothing more has been heard
of him
Ladies of good birth who have been ed
ucated abroad are likewise rorccd to join
secret circles of friends The police have
no respect for women and when they
break in upon a meeting of girls they
seize all the literature in the place and
If there happens to be a publication of a
socialistic or revolutionary kind the girls
are packed off to the house of detention
No wonder that under such circum
stances many are elrlven to desperation
and Join the Nihilist inner circle where
an oath of secrecy Is Imposed and the
members promise to do all they can to an
nihilate the present form of government
There is not much method in the working
of thlp Inner circle beyond the fact that
there Is a small committee with a head
quarters In several of the chief cities ot
the Empire There Is a system of signs
by which members know one another and
a correspondence Is kept up with expatri
ated members who foregather In Switz
erland and London
Of late we have heard little of the Nihi
lists because they arc working quietly
among the people educating tnm and
spreading their doctrines There have
been io attempts on the Emperors life
no dramatic exploding of bombs and no
digging of underground passages for the
purpose of blowing up palaces Perhaps
likely to interfere with a committee which Tsars evident dislike of the methods
atma at nairin iipnnia nin of his ministers and ills attemnts to
crnable by the Turks On the other hand ameliorate the conditions of life among
Turkish notions of government have un- i hi poorer ubjccts have softened the
elergone no change since they first over- hearts of the Irreconcllables of the inner
ran southeastern Europe The native circles of nihilism At any rate their ef
honesty which abounds among the rt ar now directed principally against
sulman common people has very little i the Procurator of the Synod and the more
chance to assert itself In the ranks of a brutal of the Governors of provinces
soldiery which the Sultan regularly for
gets to pay
The Turkish troops and police In Mace
donia get no wages yet they share the
common human weakness of supposing
that men must live somehow They have
thus contracted the bad habit of plunder
ing villages and carrying off the food
they have no money to buy It Is vain
to look to Constantinople for any serious
attempt to maintain order In the prov
ince which the Concert of Europe in the
Treaty of Berlin marked out for refoni
nat wun tne Bulgarian mlschief mak
I w nere convice prisms un laiuuusm ii
The name or iiiack nana as
graphed to London Is new It may mean
that one particular committee of the In
ner circle has for the purpose of Its
letter threatening the Procurator as
sumed this dramatic title just as the pi
rates of old used the skull andtrossbones
on a black flag to strike terror into the
hearts of honest people I was however
under the Impression that this sort of
playing to the gallery had been given up
It was common enough twenty years ago
and I remember well the thrill that pass-
i 1 Kt Iibrthnrir 01V snmc
lmr native turbulence and Turkish mal- v wjuu -- -- -
administration it Is not wonderful that e awfwo5e 7
Macedonia is a seething caldron Farther d sco mlh daerTer BTen
west we have the gentle Albanians car- be- Ar0U h 5 fnnr Tir
rying on systematic plunder in 5eara culminated lacrthe In cLi assassination of Al-
nla Their ways are described in a letter
we publish today from our correspondent
In tne uaikan states
The Central Government has no other
control than such an may be derived from
playing oft one faction against another
It cannot collect taxes nor can It obtain
recruits for the Ottoman army nui the
NIHILISTS STILL ACTIVE
Itilliii S eerel Societies mid Why
They Are Formed
The telegram from St Petersburg an
nouncing the receipt by M Iobiedonost
zeff the Procurator of the Holy Synod of
Russia of a letter from the secret society
known as the Black Hand stating that
his death had been decided upon Is evi
dence that acute nihilism as
from chronic nihilism has In no way
diminished under the sway of the pres
ent Emperor At the same time those
who know the methods of tho narrow
minded and Iron listed Procurator wonder
what the publication of the letter means
for that gentleman teldom allows an in
cident of this sort to lK come public un
less he wishes to publish It as an excuse
for some new raid he may be contemplat
ing on the few liberties still left to the
exander 11
In RusU a string of negations is
enough to convict a man Nothing posi
tive is required An honest and Intellec
tual man majr be be rayed Into expressing
an oninlon in a cafe or hotel on the In
justice or harshness of some new Gov
Sultan ha an Albanian bodyguard Ln LTSSJI0 l --v-
I a member of the police or by some offi
around his sacred person for these cut
throats can be depended on to be faithful
to their salt Yet a timid master will not
try them too far so lest there should be
discontent In the bodyguard the Albanian
nt home Is allowed to follow his own
sweet will
Throughout these distracted regions one
looks Irr vain for any power or Influence
that makes for order and progress Be
sides Macedonian discontent Bulgarian
Intrigue Albanian violence and Turkish
incapacity we have the restless ambition
of Greeks and Serbs and Montenegrins
Yet they might all go on indefinitely with
their perpetual turbulence were It not that
from time to time one or another becomes
a pawn In the game of one of the Great
Powers So though unrest Is more ac
centuated than usual and though these
struggling nationalities have now got just
education enough to enable them to in
trigue and plot without foreign instiga
tion It does not follow that anything will
happen of rtrlous Interest to the outer
world unless one of the neighboring Pow
er directly or indirectly takes a hand
in the game It Is not clear that any
Power has any Interest at this moment
In stirring up further mischief though
there have recenUy been symptoras of a
tendency In Russia to pay more attention
to the Near East There Is some appre
hension that Germany may push commer
cial advantages too far unless Russia
makes some move to reassert her influ
ence and authority But it is very
to judge how much these tendencies
and speculations amount to Russias In
ternal condition is bad her hands are
pretty full and the French are beginning
to doubt whether they have not lent about
enough money In return for an alliance
rather hard to appraise Yet neither In
ternal distress nor financial tightness can
altogether check military adventure In
such a country as Russia Whether as 1
demonstration or as a preliminary she
has recently made a considerable naval
ellsplay on the Lower Danube the signi
ficance of which will have to be Judged
by later evtnts Lordon Times
cer and he is a doomed man lie nccomes
a political exile and is treated more
harshly than the common criminal 1 His
friends naturally indignant at the out
rage be come active enemies of the Gov
ernment where formerly they wert peace
fully Inclined citizens London Leader
BRITISH TUNNEL SCHEMES
Home
UetiHoii for Xot Joliiluir
llllld to Frnnee
The recent passage through a House of
Lords committee of the bill for con
structing a four mile tunnel beneath the
Solent to the Isle of Wight will certainly
revive the Irish and Channel tunnel
schemes
In 1SSI you may remember the South
eastern Railway at the instigation of Sir
Edward Watklns seriously began the task
of constructing a submarine highway
across the Straits of Dover
The channel at this point is particular
ly well adapted for such an undertaking
Its deepest sounding Is only 210 feet and
excellent tunnel boring beds of grey
chalk and chalk marl each 225 feet thick
run between the English and French
coasts
By means of the Beaumont compressed
air borer a seven foot tunnel was pushed
out from the English side at the rate of
fifteen yards per diem until a total dis
tance of 2000 yards had been attained
Then Parliament suddenly took fright at
a French Invasion bogey and the work
was brought to a standstill
Eight years later on the completion of
the Forth Bridge Sir John Fowler and
Sir Benjamin Baker proposed to throw a
glorified replica of their great work across
the twenty four and a half miles separ
ating Folkestone and Grlsnez Although
the route was slightly wider than the
Dover Calais alternative It had the ad
vantage of passing over the Varne and
Colbort shoals and ran throughout across
a solid foundation of white and blue
chalk
This huge undertaking had 120 spans
ranging from 32i to lCKl feet and gave
a clearance of ISO feet at high tide The
piers were to be const ructi d ashore and
floated out to their proper positions large
quantities of oil being employed to se
cure the necessary calmness
The piers were to be uses as light
houses their total eost being estimated at
fifteen millions whilst the Iron super
structure ran into another nineteen mil
lions The entire work was to use up a
million tons of strel and occupy twelve
years In construction but the scheme f till
luiigiilfehcx
Proposals have freeiucrtly been made
for a more stable link between Scotland
and Ireland At present theshorteit route
to Dublin via Holyhead involves a sea
passage of sixty live miles no light un-
f
THE TIMES WASHINGTON SUNDAY NOVEMBER 3 1901
dcrtaklng when the wild northerly glcE
are sweeping down the Irish Sea Of the
alternatlveroutes via Milford Barrow and
Lame the shortest means thirty miles of
scl passage and each necessarily involves
much trans shipment
In lssi it was proposed to construct a
huge dam one hundred yards in width
across the thirteen miles of sea tcparatlng
Tor Point Irqland and the Mull of Can
lire Simultaneously the Crlmn Canal
was to le sufficiently enlarged to permit
tile passage of vessels to and from the
North Sea But the investing public
foughi shy and Ireland Is still no nearer
A second scheme promulgated some
ten years later proposed to enclose an or
illnnrv bridge structure In a huge tube
wliii li was to be sunk and anchored sixty
feet below the surface Through this cu
rious tunnel electric or pneumatic fains
were to lie run over the twenty two miles
separating Portpatrlck and Donaghadee
Tile inventor estimated the cost of hit
scheme at live and a quarter millions
There Is unfortunately one fatal objec
tion to a submarine tunnel between Scot
lard and Ireland The bed of the sea
near the Scottish coast forms a deep pool
varying between 600 ami 900 feet which
would entail the construction of a huge
and expensive approach tunnel For this
reason the twenty four miles of the
Whitehead and Portpatrlck route esti
mated to cost seven millions the twenty
two mile tunnel between Donaghadee
and Portpatriek and the alternatitve
twenty six and a half mile route between
Island Magee and Wlrston Hill estimated
to cost from eight to ten millions have
all been reluctantly abandoned The fifteen-mile
route of the Cantlre tunnel has
lieen voted Imnractlcable on account of
the nige railway detour it would Involve
j ne nrst successiui suoaqueous iunni
was that constructed by Brunei beneath
the Thames People didnt hurry so much
in those elays and nobody appears to
haV been unduly surprised that this un
dertaking commenced In 1S23 was not
completed until 1S43
Of course the engineer was working to
a great extent in the dark He had prac
tically to make his own experience and
it cost him dear ns much as 1C00 per
lineal yard in some places Today such
is destiny the trains of the Bast London
Railway run through It and not more
than half of their passengers realize that
they are being whisked through the once
world famous Thames tunnel Pearsons
Weekly
STKEET CABS IN THE STEAND
CliurleH I Inlliiinii Si en Dlllicully
In I lie AVny
The subject of electric trams in the
centre of London Is now being seriouslv
discussed by the municipal authorities
Tho hlea of these trams down the Strand
Fleet Street and Ludgato hill is ridiculed
by many officials as an impossibility on
account of the great space they would
take up
Mr Charles L Pullman who Is an ex
pert on street and other railways said
yesterday to an Express representative
I do not see any difficulty In the way of
building and operating ar electric car line
througli the city with cross town lines at
certain points as I measured the roads
on Sunday
Two narrow gauge lines three f et
wide could be laid down the Strand close
to the curb on either side Special cars
could be built which would hold eighty
four persons inside and out and tike up
no more room than the present unwieldy
omnibus and pair of horses
The body of the trams would be only
one foot above the road continued Mr
Pullman so that ladies and children
could step In or out quite easily The en
trance would be in the centre on each
side with two staircases leading to the
roof of the car so that passengers could
go up one staircase while the others were
descending which would avoid a deal
of confusion and loss of time
I believe that If the difficulty with the
various bodies could bo overcome lines of
electric trams could be run over all parts
of Iondon to pay a good profit at the
uniform rate of twopence with free trans
fers at various points
London must have them sooner or
later as the time has come when the
quaint uncomfortable old bus must go
There is one thing which must bo
done- said Mr Pullman and that Is to
get rid of the heavy traffic and rejegato
it to the side streets A belt line of roads
similar to the embankment should be bult
round London so that all the railway
vans nnd vehicles of that description
should have plenty of room to get along
with a certain number of cross town con
necting reads
I hove received a letter from a member
of the county council this morning thank
ing me for some of the suggestions which
appeared recently In a letter I wrote to
the Press He said he hoped the day
would soon come when London will have
a street car system equal to any city in
the world London Express
BBAVED MANY DANGERS
experience of n Surveying Expedi
tion Alonjr AliynnlnlnN Frontier
Reuters Agency has received full de
tails of the sufferings experienced by the
British expedition under Major Austin
which for the past ten months has lrt en
engaged In surveying along the Angio
Abyssinlan frontier The three remain
ing members of the expedition reached
Calais yesterday afternoon They arc
Major H II Austin R E the leader of
the expedition Major R G T Bright
Rifle Brigade second in command and
Dr J Garner medical officer The three
officers although now In good health
show traces of the hardships and suffer
ings endured during their Journey None
of them had previously encountered such
severe experiences in any expedition In
the early days of the journey much delay
fwas occasioned by great swamps Then
waterless desert country had to be cross
eel and the travelers suffered much from
thirst Later provisions became so scarce
that the transport animals 3el to be
killed for food Finally when everyone
was In great straits the expedition had
to maintain a running fight with the
Turkhana a race of naked giants round
Lake Rudolph Most of the equipment
had eventually to be thrown away and
when Major Austin and his companions
reache d a British post on Lake Baringo
73 per cent of the escort and transport
men had died
The txpeditlon which left Omdurman
In December last with orders to survey
the country alons the Anglo Abyssinian
frontier took at escort twenty men of
the Tenth Soudtnese Battalion under
Mabruk Effendi together with transport
drivers and personal servants number
ing altogether fifty nine The transport
animals included fifteen camels twelve
mules and 123 donkeys From Omdur
man the Journey was made by gunboat
to Nasser Fort where the expedition dis
embarked and proceedesi south along the
Pibor River to its junction with the
Akobe nt latitude 7 degrees 47 minutes
traversing endless swamps The expedi
tion then entered upon the entirely un
known country of llama referred to by
Captain Wellby in his book where the
natives were found to be very shy and
gave the white man a wide berth In
March last Major Austin entered upon
the desert where for a period of a month
the expedition was in great distress Often
the animals had to be denrived of water
for forty tight hours The men suffered
greatly during this part of the Journey
and became omewhat listless but there
is not the least foundation for the ru
mors cu rent In Cairo of a mutiny Ma
jor Austin speaks In the highest terms of
their loyalty and gallantry during a very
precarious period At the beginning of
April water was found the expedition
reaching the Sacchl River to the west of
the Omo There Major Austin found on u
hush a curious piece of rag which on ex
amination proved to be a silk handker
chief with an Initial B In tho corner It
undoubtedly belonged to the Italian ex
plorer Bottego who was murdered In this
region some years ago During the whole
of the period the expedition
met large herds of elephants and giraffes
but had little opportunity for sport
Four days after leaving the Sacchl Ma
jor Austin concluded his survey from tho
north having Joined up with ills pre
vious survey from the Momlinsa side By
this time supplies began to give out and
the situation became most critical officers
and men being reduced to less than half
rations Orders had to be given to kill
the trnnspoit animals for food nnd for
ten weeks donkey and mule llesh was the
only meat available As It was found
impossible to proceed further in tills
plight It was decided to strike south into
the Uganda Protectorate the main sur
vey having been completed between the
Sudan nnd Abyssinia Heavy rains now
set In and shallow lakes of rnln water
altered the whole character of the coun
try Majors Austin nnd Bright who had
In 11 he en over this section of the road
found thilr calculations quite upsrt by
these floods ardere unable to follow
their old route A
long detour was nec
essary and It was not until May that
Lake Rudolph was reached
It was now hoped that the chief difficul
ties were over but as a matter of fact
worse was In store The hardships and
privations endured Were telling henvlly
upon all and Mater Austin became seri
ously ill with anattnck of gastritis oc
casioning a furthtr delay of some days
The night before the party reached the
lake- a band ot Turkhana swept down
upon some members of the caravan and
murdrrcd three soldiers whom they left
dead on the ground -
At midnight thesv Same people tried to
rush the ramp but wWre eventually beat
en off They followed the expedition for
nunc days and kept up a desultory rear
nd flank attack in which several more
of Major Austins men lost their lives
During the whole of this trying time the
Sudanese displayed great galluntry de
spite the fact that they were almost starv
ing The Turkhana are described ns a
race of very line physique mostly over six
feet in height They are quite naked and
wear their hair arranged as a kind of bag
Tills hangs to the waist and Is made to
hold various trinkets and personal orna
ments It took over a month to get clear
of their country in which time thirty
members of the expedition died of ex
haustion
The officers next proceeded south toward
Lake Baringo being still unable to ob
tain supplies of food and all more or less
In n state bordering on collapse In July
Like Baringo was reached and the cx
iwdltlon spent some time at the British
post there where they received every
kindness from Mr Hyde Baker vho was
In charge By this time only fourteen
men out of fifty nine were alive On one
occasion seven men died In one day After
a few days rest Major Austin and his
companions proceeded to Nakuro where
they jolneil the Iganda Railway en route
for Mambasa London Graphic
ENGLANDS BESETTING SIN
Lord Hosehery 011 the Fntnl
Gift
of Complacency
Speaking last night as president of the
Birmingham and Midland Institute Lord
Roscbery expressed the opinion that there
were few needs of the nation more clam
ant than the need for Independent
thought though It might be that under
an appearance of calm and apathy men
were thinking out the problems that be
set us He hoped that that was so fcr
we needed much thought political com
mercial and military If wc were to main
tain our national power and national
power In these days was synouymous with
national safety
In days to come if they had not come
empires would be formidable not so much
from the immensity of their area as from
the numbers ot their trained Intelligent
and educated population Political and
commercial education were all very well
hut neither would avail without the spirit
to take advantage of It The nation which
woe not progressive was retrograding
Rest and be thankful was a motto
which spelt decay
His lordship spoke of the restless enter
prise of the Americans remarking that In
the New World the disdain of finality
the anxiety for Improving tho best seem
ed almost a disease but In Greet Britain
they could afford to catch the complaint
at any rate in a mitigated form and give
in exchange someof our self-complacency
for complacency- was a fatal gift In
these days we heeded to be Inoculated
with some of the nervous energy of the
Americans
WV looked back with satisfaction upon
our history and said In proverbial fash
Ion that there was a Providence watch
ing over us Did not the people see that
It was from themselves from their pas
slonatedetermlnatlonr If they would that
the sustaining and driving impulse must
come if energy were to result Nothing
else would be of avail for even if some
great orator should awake the echoes for
a moment they soondled away
Leaders were all very well They were
desirable they were necessary they were
somctlms admirablbut they were not
everything They were inadequate to
grapple with national tasks unless they
had a national force behind them What
he would ask the people was when they
wanted a thing to want it with all their
might that they should exert their Irre
sistible will power and insist that what
they wanted should be done London
Mail
GUARDS FOR ROYALTY
Precautions for Protecting the
Life
Ktnir Edvturd
It is Intended to pay particular atten
tion to the police precautions that sur
round the members of the royal family
Some proposals have already been sub
mitted to the King with the result ihat
he has cxpre sseel his disapproval of any
fuss being made fo far as he is concern
ed No one could possibly imagine King
Edward being worried by the prospect of
sudden attack and althc Jgh he has yield
ed to the sollcitationr of ministers ho
has made It clei rly understood that he
Is not to be disturbed by the presence of
detectives at every turn They may be
In the vicinity buc they must not be in
evidence This applies to his own person
and he is probably right in believing that
the moral effect of his courageous disre
gard of danger Is a better protection
against attack than any amount ot police
surveillance
It Is different however with the ladles
of Ills family This Is why the most elab
orate arrangements have been made and
although the details of them cannot be
disclosed everything Is being done to
guard the royal family from molestation
Modern Society
ENGLANDS NAVAL MISHAPS
Itmllcnl Defect In Torpedo Bout lie
Htroyer CoiiMtriiellon
Apparently the admiralty stands as
much In need ot the gospel of efficiency
as does the War Office Luckily there is
something In the breaking of a ships
back which makes a direct appeal to the
imagination The bare Idea Is so utterly
horrible that even the official mind will
be stirred There Is little doubt that the
Cobra broke In two The Crane began
to crack from no apparent cause the oth
er duy and only the fact that the sea
was smooth and port near at hand seems
to have saved her Something sinister
has also occurred to the Brazen but
what it is tile authorities keep to them
selves
Now the Vulture has developed start
ling weakness These disasters occur
ring so promptly one after the other
seem to suggest that there may lie some
thing rndlcally wrong witli the construc
tion of all our recent destroyers Strength
apparently has been sacrlfied to speed and
lightness and In a heavy sea they will
literally break In half The first con
cern of the country should be to see that
the admiralty faces this terrlbc possibili
ty frankly and with no thought of sav
ing the reputation of Its constructors at
the expense of the lives of its men After
that has been doue perhaps there may be
leisure to enquire how the lack of brains
or caution or science at neauquariers
may best be made good London Leader
AN ANARCHISTS SUICIDE
Chlrs of a llnml Prefers Death to Ilil
Iirlnonnieiit
A well known uniirchist named Romas
the chief of a band who have destroyed
various public anil ether buildings dur
ing the past few mouths has been ar
rested at Stanislawow in Eastern Galicla
He was seen siting by the roadside with
one of his companions by a gendarme
who at once ran forwanl to capture them
Romas companion escaped but Romas
pulled out a revolver and fired six shots
nt the gendarm two of which wounded
him in tlie hand
A fierce struggle followed in which the
gendarme finally plnmd Romas to the
ground with his bayonet and then carried
him off to the nearest guardhouse Willi
the help of some peasants Tho child of
one of these peasants was unfurlunately
killed during the struggle by a shot filed
by tho gendarme at his assailant
Twenty one rounds of ammunition were
found upon ItomaH when lie was searched
In the guardhouse nnd on the following
morning he hanged himself with the
binrtfii vllv liul htpll itnnllett to llfS
wounds Cracow Correspondence In Loll-
don Mall
R0BBIN THE GOVERNMENT
Some Noted Attempts Made to Loit
IVig Federal Vaults
W A lliikerfon Describes Crimes
lteenlled by Hie Chicago Post
olUee Gold Is Well Protect
edThieves Arc Usually Cnptureil
The startling robbery of the temporary
postoee by which more than J700O0
worth of stamps was carried away by
rcfibers who left no trace- behind is one
of the largest successful robberies the
country has seen In many years More
money than the stamps represent has
leen taken In other burglaries notably In
the very similar robbery ot the Selby
Smelting Companys vault In California
last August when J2S0000 In gold bars was
carried oft but all of this was recov
ered Mint robberies have been discov
ered several times but in nearly ever in
stance the Secret Service men have been
successful In running down tho thieves
and recovering all or nearly all the plun
der But tho men who tunneled under
the vault In the Chicago postofflcc drilled
holes in the steel floor and abstracted
millions of stamps left no tangible clew
for the detectives An attempt to sell
the stamps may result in an arrest in the
future but even then the real burglars
may not be caught They have covered
their tracks very well
William A Plnkerton whose men suc
ccedeel in tracing the burglar at the Selby
smcltcr and recovering all of the stolen
gold Is of the opinion that the postoffice
robbery In this city was Inspired by the
burglary of the smelter vault
There Is no doubt about It in my
mind said Mr Plnkerton although ot
ccurse I do not thlrk for a minute that
the Chicago burglars were connected with
the smelter robbery But In both cases a
tunnel was dug from a point outside or
beneath the building to a point Immedi
ately under the treasure vault A hole
was then drilled through the floor until
It was large enough to admit the en
trance of a man Then the stuff golel In
one case stamps in another was passed
but through the hole Jack Winters the
fellow we caught In the ValleJo Junction
robbery found the gold bars too heavy
to dispose of or carry away easily and
he dumped them Into the waters of the
bay within 200 feet of the vault he had
robbed
Tunneling Into the roof or walls or
floor of a vault is an old trick ot bankJ
burglars and other criminals You re
member a year or two ago this Emma
Goldman and a lot of anarchists rented a
house across the street from the jail in
Pennsylvania where Berkman the an
archist was confined after he shot Frick
the coke magnate They started to dig
a tunnel under the walls of the Jail to
liberate Berkman but they were discov
ered before they got very far I recall
a case down East where a gang of bur
glars dug a tunnel under a bank from the
adjoining building and worked all night
making a hole in the floor and when they
came up they found they were In the
directors room right next to the vault
hut far enough away to spoil the job
Some years ago It was no uncommon
thing for bank burglars to make big
hauls mounting up toward a million In
some cases The Northampton Mass
bank robbery netted the burglars 1200
000 Banks were not so well protected In
tliose days but now It is almost impossi
ble for a bank vault in a big city to be
cracked A few years ago I talked to
Postmaster Gordon who was then In of
fice about connecting the vaults In the
temporary postoffice electrically with our
watch system and he thought very well
of it He went to Washington with the
proposition and the Department turned
it down It would have cost them JJC0 or
J100 to install the system and now they
have to face a loss of over 170000
Although the Subtrcasury Is located in
an office building pending the completion
of the new Federal building It would be
an Impossibility for burglars to break Into
it Millions of dollars In cash are locked
up there every night but the safeguards
around the vaults are such that the gold
and silver might as well be so much waste
paper for all the attractions they have for
burglars They are absolutely protected
at all hours from attacks from the out
side
Although the vaults in the Treasury De
partment In Washington are to a great
extent antiquated the officials there never
dream of burglary
The best safeguard for coin is Its weight
Just to illustrate this point it may be
mentioned that the 132000000 in silver
now held In the strong rooms of the Treas
ury weighs nearly 5000 tons A million
dollars in gold coin weighs about two
tons antl It would take a very strong
man to carry off 50000 worth of the yel
low stuff Though a gold brick the shape
and size of an ordinary building brick
represents JS000 its heft Is something
astonishing Suggestions have been made
that it might be practicable to burrow
beneath the Treasury hy tunnel and thus
pillage Uncle Sams coffers by a sort of
rat hole method but even if this were ac
complished it is difficult to imagine how
it would be practicable to remove much
ot the coin
There was quite a scare a few years
ago when Gilfilimi was treasurer because
the vault in the cashroom where the
ready money Is kept refused to open It
is always set for 820 a m with a time
lock but on this occasion something
seemed to be wrong with the mechanism
and the steel doors remaineel obstinately
closed Nine oclock arrired and the
money was still loeked up For once
Pncle Sams hank was oMIgeel to suspend
payments Exptits were sent for and
came with their tools to break open the
vault but before they got there the big
safe lull opened of Its own accord It
turned out that the time lock had been
set by accident for 930
In this vault not only gold and rllver
but many millions In paper money are al
ways kept If thieves could obtain ac
cess to It they might easily walk away
wlth an enormous sum the notes nnd
certificates being done up In packages and
neatly labeled with the sums they con
tain in large red figures
Each parcel holds 1l notes and in size
Is just a foot cube If the denomination
Is 500 a single such package represents
J20iW000 However If anybenly did suc
ceeel in getting awav wlh cash in this
shape he could hardly fail to be caught
Inasmuch us the numbers ot the bills
would lie advertised immediately and
every bank In the country would be on
tlie lookout for them
Burglars may be practically excluded
but the Treasury does not claim to be
theft proof On an unlucky day in 1870
a visitor came Into the Treasurers room
with a large Panama hat in his hand
The Treason rs attention was distracted
by some other people who were trying to
talk to him nnd the man dropped his hat
carelesslv over a package which contained
2iXi0 10 notes lying on the desk It was
one of several such packages and the loss
of It was not noticed until some hours
later Of course the notes were adver
tised and some time afterward a part of
them were deposited in a New York bank
The depositor was arrested but nobody
was punisneei ror tne crime
formal net an official In that posltiun wh 1
would otherwise have been liable for the
repayment of large losses On one oc
casion two men Harden and Johnson the
latter an assistant paying teller took JS2
0W by collusion Tlie Government gotback
JI110 of this money and the offenders
escaped with a year in prison for each
Tlure have been a good many thefts In
the redemption division where the temp
tations are exceedingly great the most
famous of them being perpetrated by a
woman who Invented a method of maklns
nine noTs out of tight incidental to the
process of putting together 3craps ot torn
bills sent in for redemption Nobody ever
knew how much she stole though ft was
probably a very large amount but she
gave up a portion of her Ill gotten gains
and was not prosecuted
In 1SS3 there was much excitement over
the loss of 1000000 in paper money
which had been shipped from Washing
ton to the assistant treasurer at San
Francisco The shipment was made by a
sailing vessel called the Golden Rule and
consisted of 1000 1000 notes Unfortu
nately the ship was wrecked on RCncador
Reef and the safe that contained the
cash was lost with it Nevertheless a
conspiracy was suggested and a theory
was formed to tho effect that the vessel
had been deliberately cast away for the
sake of stealing the money If this had
been true some of the nptes would cer
tainly have turned up later but as a
matter ot fact none of them has ever
been seen since and it may therefore
be taken for granted that the missing
wealth still lies at the bottom of the sea
Of course being only paper money it
was no loss to Uncle Sam Chicago
Chronicle
A PARISIAN ROMANCE
A Ienl Iire Incident Which Itends
Like Fiction
A few days ago a person of venerable
aspect alighted at a hotel In the neigh
borhood of the Salnt Lazare Railway sta
tion He Introduced himself to the land
lord s s a wealthy merchant from Bor
deaux and was welcomed with all the
deference due to so respectable a person
age the more so as he confided a sum of
money to tha caro of his host Tho old
man whose long white beard wa3 the ad
miration ot all beholders was treated
with every attention by the servants of
the house and having passed on the
staircase a pretty lady who seemed to
have taken his fancy he experienced lit
tle difficulty In finding out some inter
esting particulars about her The smart
ltoking person as one ot tho waiters ex
plained was on very friendly terms with
a married man to whom she paid a visit
every afternoon Tho subject was then
dropped nor moreover were there any
further meetings on the staircase but on
the following afternoon when the fair
charmer had hung the key of her room
up In the bureau and had sallied forth on
her career of conquest the elderly gen
tleman with the white beard stole softly
in when nobody was about and putting
the key In his pocket made his way to
ins enamoer wnicn naa just Deen va
cated
Shutting the door without exciting any
notice he went to the big trunk which
was lying on the floor and breaking
open tne iock rummaged in It until he
had found bank notes to the amount of
SOuOf stowed away in a corner He had
Just packed the notes carefully in his
pockctbook when one of the servants
hearing a faint noise in the room which
he had believed to be empty walked in
and catching sight of the old man who
was currently supposed to be a pattern
of all the virtues seized him by the col
lar with the reproachful cry Why you
are a thief The bewilderment of the
worthy garcon when the long white
beard came off In his hand may well be
imagined and as he stood gaping In
speechless amazement the erstwhile ven
erable elder with whom he had been dal
lying so roughly uttered a mild protest I
am not a thief he exclaimed I am
the husband of the naughty woman who
has taken this room and as her abode Is
legally mine as well I am eiulte within my
right in acting as I have done At that
moment the lady who had missed her
rendezvous with her friend made In her
turne her entry into the chamber Heav
ens My husband she cried In horror
Yes It Is I replied the man as he
dealt her a couple of ringing boxes on the
ear Then he went downstairs paid his
bill and started off by the next train for
his native village In Normandy He had
got what he wanted the 30O0f which his
wife had taken off with her when she
eloped The rest of the business will be
as effectively settled by a divorce court
London Telegraph
CLEVER BOOK THIEVES
Amateur nnd Profeaslonnl Pilferers
Who Steal Literature
With the advent of department stores
and the concentration and enlargement
of other shops the guilil of shoplifters
has gradually developed Its profession
into a high art in thievery so thit it Is
not an easy matter to effectually stop
their pilfering Perhaps the most difficult
to apprehend among this gentry are those
who make the large and fashionable book
shops along Fifth Avenufr and the side
streets their field of action
These stores do not keep a store detec
tlve except around the holidays and
hence It devolves on the clerks and even
the office boys to keep a sharp eye on all
customers
In one of the large shop3 below Twenty
third Street the boy who attends to the
door has become a very Gallagher in his
ability to detect suspicious characters He
has established a system of simple sig
nals which he employs to warn the chief
salesman of the entrance of any person
whose appearance rouses his suspicions
Many of the book thieves are profes
sionals of sufficient standing to have their
portraits In the Rogues Gallery and with
these the boy as well as the clerks are
quite familiar But there are many new
comers In the business ns well mere ama
teurs who steal books not to sell them
but because they have a fancy for such
things and who are generally without but
sometimes with the money to gratlfy
their taste
The time of the year when overcoats
are In order is the harvest time for the
book thief A man who comes into the
store with both coat and overcoat open In
front is watcheet closely by the employes
on the sunnosltlon that he may not be
nble to resist the temptation to put away
a book under eacn arm ana waiK out
without paying for them
The weMher however is not always
takvi into consideration by those who
have an Inelnation to appropriate a few
Locks I lieie is nmong the professionals
an oid woman who wears a cape even on
the hottest elays
She approaches the stores with great
caution Invariably peering through th
glass and entering only when the clerks
are in the rear of the store When any
one ofTers to assist her In looking over the
books she becomes angry and does not
hesitate to express herself In Very forci
ble language thereby hoping to distract
the attention of the clerk In some stores
she is invariably conducted to the door
as soon as her presence la discovered
A favorite trick of the book thief is to
enter the store and pick a book off the
front table where he knows he Is not ob
served He then leisurely walks to the
rear counters with the book in plain vlew
nnd asks to have it exchanged for an
other claiming that he bought it the
day before but does not like It As it Is
generally impossible to disprove the asser
tion his request has to be complied with
and he walks out with his spoil
As n rule the professional thief is hard
to catch He is cool collected and quick
nnd generally gets away with his booty
It Is the beginner or amateur who usually
Is caught He betrays himself frequently
by his hesitating demeanor Picking up a
book he pretends to read It but his eyes
wander over the top of the pages on the
lookout for those who may be watehlsir
him A man who does this is generally
caught
Sometimes these persons are of very
good family In such cases the firm gen
erally cither withdraws Its complaint if
he has been arrested or permits the
would lic thief to go free after
ine him with arrest and warning him
T singular Immunity Vrpm PunUhm t neW 0 the
Onlv a few davs since a young
seems to have attenueu inicvcs wiju
robbed the Treasury in such wajs In IS1
a clerk Benjamin Hallock passed a pack
age of 300 notes representing 17000 out of
a window In the cash room to a saloon
keeper John Ottman For some time the
robbery remained a mystery but later one
Theodore Brown was caught letting on
the races at Saratoga with some of the
missing K notes He was arrested and
Implicated Ottman and Hallock but
Brown was never tried and the other two
were not finally convicted Of the stolen
money 200i was recovered
It has been said that no trust company
would accept the responsibility of the
Treasurer of the United States for the
iiiuM a year salary which he gets He is
responsible for all moneys that may be
stolen nnd on more than one occasion
Congress has been obliged to relieve by
men con
nected with a large lithographic establish
ment and whose previous record was
clean was caught with the goods on
him in a Fifth Avenue store His fiancee
who bfiorged to a family of wealth and
social position went to see the firm and
her pleadings secured Ills release from the
police station where he had spent the
night
How extensive these pllferlngs are Is
demonstrated by the recent experience of
a firm on Fifth Avenue They had on ex
hibition on a table near one of the win
dows a dozen copies of an expensive book
on natural history the study of which so
cletv people ore now making a fad At
fi oclock in the afternoon when the store
closed not a single copy was left yet not
a copy had been sold all day New York
Times
LARGEST HAMIM BRIBE
East ltivcr Structure nt New York
Nearins Completion
Five Ypnw Alrendy Spent on the
Xcir lIlKhivny Enorliifiis Wire Cn
hlcs Whicli Support the Honrtvrny
The nnarlneerlitfr Problem Solved
Flvo years have already been spent on
the new Est River Bridge two more
will pass befori It Is done The deep
piers the massive anchorages and the
great bulk ot the work on the land spans
is completed on either side of the river
On the Brooklyn side tho approach Is
more than half done In New York the
land for tho approach has been condemn
ed and the buildings that stood upon It
have betn demolished The other work
now finished Is mostly ot the sort Inci
dental to the construction of the bridge
It will be taken away when it has served
the uses for which It was put up There
remain then of the permanent work the
building of the cables which are finally
to support tho giant highways across the
stream the completion of the approaches
In New York and Brooklyn the construc
tion of floors the whole- length of the
bridge the assembling of the enormous
stiffening truss which is to be suspended
between the towers paving the roadways
laying the tracks for surface and ele
vated cars and the preparation of broad
piazzas at either end of the structure
As It stands today there seems already
to be a way across the stream And in
fact there is Up from Brooklyn to the
top of the eastern tower down In a deep
dip and up again to the top ot the wes
tern tower then down once more to the
anchorage In New York run quit twenty
cables most of tht n 2ii lnch wire rope
IfcvYaround and upon thse as supports
hangs a complicated fabric ot timbers
while upon the timbers one can see plain
ly from the river below at least two paths
which run the whole- length of the ropes
liUt these are merely footpaths built for
workmen simply preliminaries to the slow
and toilsome construction of the much
larger structure which Is eventually to
carry the traffic between the districts of
the two boroughs thus brought in close
touch The final cables will be ot -such
great dimensions compared to the ordi
nary run of ropes that they will have to
be put together on the spot strand by
strand bit by bit- Before it becomes a
bridge the structure must serve as a
ropewalk
The fibres used In making these ropes
however will be three sixteenths of an
Inch each In diameter and of steel Ex
cept for the dip In the cables rt the
dlo and either end and the Jend at the
top of the towers the single wires will
have neither twist nor turn bvwards of
seven thousand such wires each about
3100 feet long will be In each ot the four
great cables In the progress of the work
they are to be coated with a preparation
protecting them from rust and then
formed Into round bundles eighteen Inches
In diameter preparatory to putting on the
cable sheath When that has been fitted
It will be possible to attach the suspend
ers which will transfer to the cables the
loads of truss ana floors
Besides the foot bridge four guide wires
are already In place the latter serving to
indicate wnat dip ana tension snoyia re
given the wires or rods of the cables
themselves Also In place Is a conveyor
machinery by means of which the rods
will be stretched two at a Ume from one
anchorage to another
wnen that part o tne task begins tne
adjustment of he length ot the- rods will
proceed on the principle that equal deflec
tion gives equal tension if the rods show
like dips to like depths from their sup
ports across the towers they will be un
der like strains The ends gathered Into
strands of 200 rods each will be fastened
to pins in the steel bars measuring 9x2
Inches in cross section which run down
deep Into the anchorage 160 of them on
cither side of the river
Fifty tons of these rods are now In
Brooklyn and 200 tons have been made
while contracts have been let for the
whole 2stty needed This roughly
amounts to lKX tons for each cable or
iioo tons for the four Work will proceed
on all four at once as soon as work be
gins The Ume set for that Is November
1 The cables should be ready by Sep
tember 1 1302 the engineers hope indeed
that they may be finished somewhat ear
lier still As long- as the cables are not
ready other work cannot proceed on the
main span or stiffening truss But the
contract for this part of the bridge has
been let and the steelmakers are at work
upon the beam
Those who have undertaken to build the
truss will have eight months in which to
do it The work that is ought to be
ready by the end ot April 1303 Jl will De
a task of tremendous difficuUy this piec
ing together of great beams high above
the water without false work under
neath and from a support which will be
by no means firm If the work were car
ried on from a single point of the truss
the concentration of weight at that point
would deflect the cables from their true
bend To keep the load rightly distrib
uted the contractors will have to pursue
their operations on several parts of the
span at the same time Once this truss U
finished there will bo no need for ttie
guys and stays now used to steady the
working platform and prevent Its swing
ing In the wind The truss of Itself will
be so stiff as to resist without perceptible
vibration even tornado pressures of wind
After the main span there will be com
paratively little work to do The final
touches which will make the bridge a
highway promise totake less time than
any earlier part of the wore Of course
while the centre truss is under construc
tion it will be possible also to finish the
approaches To make the floor of the
main span to pave It and lay the railway
tracks is not expected to take over four
to six rr f ths The engineers in charge
of the bridge hope therefore and expect
vr jt ready some time In the autumn
of IMC 3
Four trolley tracks two elevated rail
way tracks two carriageways two foot
walks anil two cycle paths will crost
the completed bridge a provision for traf
fic as ample surely as made on any other
bridge th world oxer The long bunches
of parallel steel rods which tho engineers
call cables and which are to hold up the
stilfenlng truss of the middle span will
be the largest ever built In their diame
ter of eighteen Inches they -are four Inches
larger than these of the Brooklyn Bridge
The rods which make up the cables will
be longer than any useel before Much
special machinery has been neetled in
building the bridge and the place and
purpose of its construction have nee
many originalities of design Of the
suspension type whether Judged by
strength or capacity the bridge will prob
ablv be the greatest In the world -New
York Evening Post
SlinlllliiK by Machine
A card shuttling machine has been in
vented by R F Bellows of Cleveland It
should make business poor for crooked
card players The device is complicated
yet simple in Its action
Card players who want a fair and hon
est game are enthusiastic in their praise
of my machine says Bellowa They
say it shuffles cards more thoroughly
than can possibly be done by hand and
that It Is Impossible for the dealer to put
up a hand to suit hlrhself I have exhib
ited the machine to a number of profes
sional gamblers Some of the keepers of
gambling rooms told me they would do all
they conld to prevent ths machine from
being put in use because it takes rway
all the advantage which the dealers skill
in shuffling gives to the house But when
the machine gets Into the rooms where
square games are played the fair players
will go there and the crooked rooms will
then be compellrd to adopt Its use- also
The shuffling machine Is a metal box
about twelve inches high throe Inches
wide and six Inches from front to back
All the mechanism Is Inside The cards
are dropped in at the top and rest on a
tiny shelf Below this there arc five small
lingers one on each of tlve thin steel
blades extending across the full width ot
the machine When a shutter on he front
Is dropped the shelf falls and the cards
drop upon the blades and are separated
Into five little irregular bunches by the
fingers The blades separate and one by
one cards drop from the various bunches
Into a receptacle nt the bottom the drop
being regulated by a clock work mechan
ism
There Is no way of telling where any
particular card will be found In the pack
after they are shuHled The same card
placed on the top of tho pack will rarely
be found twlco In the same place aft
the shuffle Chicago Jnier Ocean
4